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(Model) 2 Sheets8heet 1.

O. G. ROMBOTIS.

ALARM LOOK. No. 251,138. Patented Dec. 20,1881.

I I I V E NOR Mm 6. dam;

By his Attorneys;

(Model.) I 2 Sheets--Sheet 2'.

' O. G. ROMBOTIS.

ALARM LOCK.

Patented Dec. 20,1881;

INVENTOR:

WiTNESSES: WW

. By his Attorneys,

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* UNITED STATES OTHON G. RQMBOTIS,

PA-TENT, OFFICE.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ALARM-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,138, dated December 20, 1881.

Application filed July '7, 1881. (Model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTHON G. RoMBo'rIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain Improve- .ments in Locks, of which the following is a specification.

My lock may be employed for any purpose where a lock is needed-as, for example, securing trunk and chest lids, doors, 85c.

Theinvention has several leading or con- .spicuous features, one of which is the employment of a gong, bell, or other alarm arranged to be sounded by the turning of a key, partly for the purpose of giving warning should any unauthorized person tamper with the lock, and partly to direct the person who is turning the key, so that he may properly disengage the latches thereby. Another feature relates to the peculiar construction of the bolts or latches, tumblers, and key, whereby the former are properly actuated by the latter.

In the drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure l is a front view of the lock with the front plate entirely removed, so as to clearly exhibit the mechanism. Fig. 2 is a front View similar to Fig. 1, but showing the key in position just after the catches on the main latch have been disengaged. Fig. 3is a detached view, illustrating the position of the key in disengaging the second latch; and Fig. etis a similar view, showing the position of the key in disengaging the third latch and releasing the'shackle. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 illustrates several forms of key-sockets, illustrating also how each lock may have a key peculiar to itself.

I have shown myimproved look as adapted to securing the lid or cover of a trunk or chest,

drawings show the parts of the lock rather larger than the usual size, so as to better illustrate the invent-ion, but the lock may be of any slze.

A is the lock=case, provided, when-preferred, with a raised rim or flange, a; and A is the front plate, designed mainly to steady the keypost. Through the plate and flan ge of the; case are cut slits or apertures b, to receive the bails from the latch O, and his a spring arranged to act upon said tumbler as an elastic resistance when the latter is pressed back by the key.

E is the key-post, which is mounted rotatively in the plate of the casing A (see Fig. 5) and has a socket to receive the key. It has also a squared or polygonal base, t, arranged to engage a larger square or polygonal aperture,j, in a star-shaped cam or escapement, F.

The rounded points of this escapemcnt take,

when the key is turned successively against a rounded projection, k, on the elastic arm of a spring-hammer,G. When thetrip-escapement F is rotated its points successively press back said hammer and permit it to strike smart blows on a gong or bell, II. This construction of the rotary escapement, elastic or spring hammer, and gong is of the ordinary kind as employed for other purposes, and will require no further description.

I is the second latch, which is pivoted at l and provided with a beveled catch, e, arranged to engage the bail 0, but having its lower horizontal edge arranged a little above the plane of the lower edge of the catch e on the main latch G. This latch'I is normally pressed forward against a stop, (I, by means of a spring,

m, which also presses against the flattened back edge of a tumbler, J, pivoted on or to the latch I. The spring acts to hold the tumbler normally and elastically in the position shown in Fig. 1, and will return it to this position when the tumbler is pressed up or down by the key.

K isia third latch, which is pivoted at n, and is normally pressed up to a stop, d, by a spring, 0. This latch is provided with a beveled catch, e arranged to engage the bail c of the shackle. This catch is also arranged above, the plane of the catches on the main latch G. On the latch gaged, and also an alarm, which is sounded by the turning of the key in the lock.

The operation of unlocking or of disengaging the catches is as follows: The key L, which has a barrel arranged to fit into the socket in the key-post E, is inserted, with its key-bit q turned down by preference, in the usual way.

' The key is now turnedto the left, or opposite to the direction of'movement of the hands of a watch, bearing with it, of course, the keypost and escapement F. The escapement, as it revolves, causes the hammer G to strike the gong, and when the operator hears three strokes of the gong he turns on slowly a little farther until he hears a click. This noise is caused by the key pressing back the tumbler D and its bit q slipping into the notch or fork in its pendent end. The operator now presses the lid of the trunk up gently with his left hand, as if to raise it, and turns the key to the right, or in the direction of movement of the hands ofa watch. The bit of the key having engaged the tumbler D, this last turn of the key presses back the latch O and permits the shackle to lift a little, by reason of the disengagement of the catches e e. The shackle is still held,however, by the catches e and 6 This is the position of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2. Still supporting the lid with his left hand, the operator now permits the key to turn back, which it will do of itself, being acted upon indirectly by the latch-spring g, and then turns it a little farther back until it clears and is free from the tumbler D,which may be known by a click.

Still lifting gently on the lid of the trunk, he

now turns the key briskly to the right until the gong sounds twice, and then slowly a little farther until he hears a click, which assures him that the bit of the key has engaged the notch or fork in the end of the tumbler J. He then turns the key a little to the left, when the key will act, through the tumbler J, to push back the latch I and disengage the catch 6 from the bail 0, whereby that end of the shackle is freed, and may be lifted far enough to prevent the catch from springing back again into '55 the bail. To disengage the third and last catch, 6 from the bail 0 the key is now turned to the right until the gong sounds twice, when the bit on the key will engage the projection 10 on the latch K and press the latter far enough back to free the shackle entirely.

Being a spring-lock, to engage the catches it is only necessary to press the bails down firmly. into the lock upon the beveled faces'of the catches, when they will yield and engage in a well-known way. v

The key may be turned round and round in the look by the uninitiated without producing any eli'ective disengagement of the catches, but the key will sound the gong repeatedly in its revolutions.

The gong is notindispensable to the unlocking operation if the operator be an expert, but it greatly assists him, as will be readily understood.

In lieu of live arms or branches on the escapement 1?, I may provide it with any number of arms; but in that case the number of taps of the bell involved in each step of the unlocking operation would differ from that described.

In lieu also of employing a number of balls on the shackle one bail might be employed and three catches, one on each of the three latches, be arranged to engage it, one above another, so that each could be disengaged independently, as will be readily understood.

For a simple look I may employ only latches C and I, or even one of these alone.

In Fig. 6 I have shown various forms of sockmay have a key peculiar to itself. These may be varied almost infinitely, but they all embody a socket of peculiar form and construction to receive a key of corresponding form.

In locks for doors or similar purposes, wherein the bails on the shackle enter the lock in a plane at right angles to that shown, the bevels on the catches will be arranged on the side instead of the top of the catch, as will be well understood.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim 1. A look comprising an alarm arranged to be sounded by an escapement actuated by turning thekeya part of arevolution, a springlatch having a catch arranged to engage a bail on the shackle, a notched gravity-tumbler suspended from said latch and backed by a spring, whereby said spring will resist the movement of the tumblerin one direction, and a key having a bit arrangedvto snap into and engage a notch in said pendent tumbler when the key has been turned far enough to sound the alarm a prearranged number of times, all arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination,in a spring-lock, of two or more latches arranged to take into or engage a bail on the shackle in different planes, tumblers on the said latches arranged to be engaged by the bit of the key at different points in its circle of travel, and an actuating key to from the bail, whereby, when the lower or inner catch is withdrawn, the bail may be lifted far enough to prevent the re-engagement of said catch and permit thebail to be released by the withdrawal of the other catch or catches, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a spring-lock, of the shackle provided with suitable bails, the main spring-latch provided with beveled catches to engage said bails, the gravity-tumbler -D and its spring, the secondary latch I, provided with a catch arranged to engage the shackleets for the key-posts, to illustrate how each lock engage the tumblers and disengage the catches bail above the catch on the main latch, the tumbler J and its spring, and thekey arranged and adapted to actuate said latches through engagement with their said tumblers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, in a spring-lock, of the shackle provided with suitable bails and the lock-case, of the main latch provided with catches to engage the shackle-bails, the notched gravity-tumbler D and its spring, the latch I, provided with a catch to engage a bail at a point above the catches on the main latch, the notched tumbler J and its spring, the latch K, provided with a catch arranged to engage a bail at apoint above the catches on the main latch, and a key having a bit arranged and adapted to act upon the several latches at different points in its circle of travel and release their catches from the bails, all arranged sub- 20 stantially as and for the purposes set forth.

OTHON GQROMBOTIS.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, E. B. BOLTON. 

